Thursday, June 17, 2010

I'm On a Roll...

Third book reviewed this week! Since these last three books have all been under 300 pages, I've been going through them lately like nobody's business. It's all due to working at the library now, I think. Having such close access to so many good books turns me into a monster.

As you all know by now, "Murder Mysteries" is not only my favorite Neil Gaiman story, it's also one of my favorite short stories in general. So when I heard there was a graphic novel version, I had to seek it out. Luckily, it lived up to its origins.

The story itself is so good that there really didn't need to be a lot done to it for me to like this book. A story within a story, "Murder Mysteries" tells the tale of the first murder in heaven, pre-Earth. It's a cool little piece that plays a bit like a noir, but which has a resonance in the story's framing in the modern world. P. Craig Russell's artwork really does the story justice, with its attention to detail and body language. He did a great job using page and scene cuts to heighten the tension between the frame story and the inner tale. Overall, I was quite impressed.

It's a short review, since I've talked about my love of this story before, but just know that if you haven't read "Murder Mysteries" before, this graphic adaptation is a great place to start.